South Africa: Farm Workers in Strike Arrested
A total of 50 arrests was the result left today in the first day of the strike by farm workers demanding a salary increase in the western Capetown.
News agency SAPA said that the demonstrators threw stones against vehicles, which made that the police closed highways to the traffic and dispersed the strikers with rubber bullets.
On the other hand, the public television network, SABC, informed that about two thousand black workers participated in the protests today to demand better labor conditions and a daily salary increase of a little less than seven euros, at this moment they just collect about 15 euros.
The strike was announced last week by the South African Confederation of Unions (Cosatu), when not being reached an agreement negotiated with the organization of farmers Agri-Inc and the government.
The protests of the workers caused two deads and material damages between August and December, when the strike renewed today was interrupted.
According to police reports, the confrontation started when the demonstrators tried to pass over the barriers placed by the public force to stop the access to downtown.
In the second semester of last year, a strike movement of considerable proportions affected the mining sector mining.
Tombs From More than Three Millennia Ago Discovered in Egypt
Excavated tombs have been discovered by Italian archaeologists seeking data on the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep II, which lasted almost six decades, an official statement says today.
The archaeologists were not expecting such a find, in the midst of their cleaning and excavations at the mortuary temple of the long-lived ruler of Luxor, about 700 kilometers south of this capital.
The graves must have been excavated more than three millennia ago, since the calculations set the reign of Amenhotep II at between 1291 and 1550 BC, said a statement from the Ministry of State for Antiquities.
It is impossible to immediately determine if the graves belong to relatives and friends buried after the monarch, or as sacrifices at the time of his death.
Among the findings are several funerary vessels decorated with effigies of the gods of the era, and the remains of sarcophagi.
Mapuche People Plan to Talk Araucania with Govt.
Mapuche communities and organizations are planning to discuss with government authorities the violent incidents in the Araucania region, which have been attributed to them.
In a “large summit” to which they plan to invite President Sebastian Pinera, they hope to discuss, based on “the principle of good faith” rather than on the practice of obtaining votes with promises of government posts, the situation of tension triggered in the past few days in the wake of the death of the couple of big landowners Luchsinger-McKay and the subsequent arson fires.
They also plan to set forth longstanding demands of the Mapuche people like self-determination and the recovery of lands.
The meeting will be held on Jan.16 in Temuco, in La Araucania region, said the “werken” (spokesman) for the Council of All Lands, Aucan Huilcaman, as quoted by Radio Cooperative.
“We are going to invite formally President Sebastian Pinera, the presidential candidates, the members of Parliament and of the civil society because there is shared responsibility in this incident,” said Huilcaman.
The death of Werner Luchsinger and Vivianne McKay in their farm, after it was set on fire by people wearing hoods, and successive arson fires attributed to Mapuche communities, have sparked conflicting reactions in Chile.
Those sympathetic to the Mapuche cause say that the government, without evidence, resorts to its usual response, going from threats and criminalization to the use of the controversial Anti-terrorist Law and an increased police presence in the area.
The Pinera Administration insists in describing as terrorist actions the arson fires of the past few days and also insists in implementing the said legislation and has deployed some 400 police agents in the region, the country´s largest mobilization.
Via PL